Trump Faces Legal Setbacks as 2 Judges Block Venezuelan Deportations

On Wednesday, federal judges in two U.S. district courts temporarily stopped the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan illegal immigrants.

A Texas judge temporarily blocked the U.S. Government from deporting three Venezuelan men on Wednesday under a rarely invoked law that gives the president power to imprison or deport non-citizens during war.

The legal defense disputes the claim that all three men belonged to the Tren de Aragua.

Three plaintiffs, including one HIV-positive man, are detained at a facility in Texas. They face deportation.

The men were identified as gang members by physical attributes using the “Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” in which an ICE agent tallies points by relying on tattoos, hand gestures, symbols, logos, graffiti, and manner of dress, according to the ACLU. Experts who study the gang have told the ACLU the method is not reliable.

Another federal judge also issued an order regarding Venezuelans held in the Southern District of New York.

Adam Klasfeld of MSNBC posted a message on X that read: “A federal court GRANTS a TRO preventing the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan immigrant prisoners in SDNY, without notice or hearing.”

“Not nationwide. No finding on AEA [Alien Enemies Act] proclamation.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Texas filed a civil class action lawsuit on Tuesday to defend the three Venezuelans.

The lawsuit also affects other detained immigrants who face deportation. The ACLU asked for a temporary restraining order to keep their petitioners within the U.S. and that the judge declare the 18th century Alien Enemies Act, which is being invoked by the Trump administration, illegal.

A hearing in New York was also underway on Tuesday morning regarding two other Venezuelans who face deportation as well under the Alien Enemies Act. Civil liberties organizations have sued the government for the two men, the one 21, the other 32. They are being held in a jail 45 miles north of New York City by immigration authorities.

The Alien Enemies Act was only used three times before, during World War I, World War II, and the War of 181,2 to justify mass internment of Japanese people while the U.S. fought Japan.

The United States is not at war with Venezuela. However, President Donald Trump has claimed that members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang are invading the U.S.

U.S. Immigration authorities have already deported over 100 people to a notorious prison located in El Salvador without allowing them the opportunity to challenge their removal in court.

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Trump administration could use wartime laws to deport Venezuelans who were accused of being gangsters. However, it also said the administration had to give Venezuelans a chance to challenge any deportation order.

The decision did not deal with constitutionality. The ACLU has asked the Texas judge to rule on the legality of using the Alien Enemies Act.

Todd Lyons said Tuesday, during the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, that the administration intends to use its program more often for MS-13 members.